Mother’s Day, 2016

Today is Mother’s Day in North America. Today is a day when I remember my mother and how much she meant to me, she still means to me. It’s also a day that I either get or don’t get phone calls from my sons.

I was just looking at a website to learn the history of Mother’s Day. There is a lot that I didn’t know about this special occasion. I also didn’t take the time to think about it. There are probably a lot of people like me who don’t make time to look up things just for information’s sake. Life is busy, but it pays to take some time to learn about the little or not so little things.

Here goes. Apparently, the ancient Greeks and Romans celebrated a form of Mother’s Day. This was dedicated more to the maternal goddesses than to human mothers. They held festivals and celebrations. These festivals date back prior to the birth of Christ. The early church also celebrated a form of Mother’s Day in the way of a celebration of Mary, the mother of Christ.

Let’s fast forward a few hundred years, now. During the 1600s, the English church had what was called Mothering Sunday. This was held during Lent and the church service was dedicated to Mary the mother of Christ. The children brought gifts and flowers to their mothers to honour them on this day. Apprentices, servants, and other employees were encouraged to visit their mothers, as well.

Another fast forward to the 1870s when Julia Ward Howe encouraged an official day for Mother’s Day. She also wanted it tied in as a day for peace. The US government didn’t really do anything until May 8, 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution recognizing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day thanks to the efforts of Anna Jarvis.

Today, Mother’s Day has been extremely commercialized and it is one of the biggest money making events of the year for retail businesses. I think that only Christmas surpasses the amount of sales during the year.

As a mother, the only wish that I have is to have a phone call from my children and their families. This afternoon, I heard from one of my sons and his family. His oldest daughter wanted to make sure that I received a call from them because it is Mother’s Day. I am so happy that she insisted on the call and enjoyed every minute of the conversation. I pray that she will always have the promptings to do the right thing as she had today.

My family is very precious to me. I want to see them more than I do, but circumstances stand in the way. I would love to talk with them every day, but all of us have our lives to live. We all have things that we need to do so that we live as happy as we can.

Enjoy your family. Enjoy your mothers. Show your love to your mothers and always, always, make sure that your mothers know that you love them. I don’t think that you will go wrong if you do this.